MP: Iran, Armenia Resolved to Promote Ties

Service : Politic

TEHRAN, June 5 (ICANA) – Member of Iran-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Robert Baglarian said on Sunday that senior Iranian and Armenian officials are politically determined to further expand mutual ties.

Sunday, June 05, 2011 6:37:38 PM

Speaking to IRNA on the eve of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Armenia, Baglarian said President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Armenia, which is a friend and neighboring country, is in line with promotion of mutual political, economic and cultural relations.

He said the visit is in response to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Tehran during Nowruz (New Year) vacations, hoping that would provide a very reliable atmosphere for mutual trust.

He added that the visit will of further significance in the economic domain, including joint railway, road and highway construction as well as power, gas and oil derivatives trade projects.

Meanwhile, Armenian Ambassador to Tehran Grigor Arakelyan said Sunday that President hmadinejad’s Armenia visit will be highly influential in promoting the Tehran-Yervan ties, consolidating their friendship bonds.

“Dr. Ahmadinejad’s visit will be in response to his Armenian counterpart’s visit to Tehran, aiming to upgrade mutual ties in various dimensions. The ties are now in highest possible level covering political and cultural domains,” Arakelyan said in an exclusive interview with IRNA.

Noting that a timetable should be set for stronger economic relations, the diplomat said Iran and Armenia have no problem politically, though holding different religious beliefs. The features have turned the two countries to serve as a model of peaceful co-existence in the region, he added.

He opined that by expanding mutual ties in various fields and through joint commissioning of infrastructural projects in Armenia, Tehran and Yerevan can play a key role in guaranteeing regional stability.

“Iran and Armenia enjoy ample potentials for expansion of bilateral relations and regional cooperation, which make it imperative for both sides to use them in the best possible manner.”

He said linking routes play a significant role in better use of the mutual potentials.

Iran and Armenia, he said, can build railroads to link their railways, he suggested.

Referring to the Tehran-Yerevan joint economic cooperation commission session, held in Tehran recently, Arakelyan said the agreement inked at the end of the meeting can serve as a timetable for joint activity in different economic fields.

He said at the end of the session, the two sides agreed to have their roads ministers to get together the next three months to sign a deal for the railway construction project.

The railway, whose construction will be undertaken by Iran, will extend on 60 kms of lands stretching from Jolfa to the zero border point with Armenia, said Araklyan, adding that Armenia in turn will work on a 400 km railway that will link the two countries’ rail tracks.

Once the railway is connected to Armenia, the republic will be involved in the cargo and passenger transportation between the northern neighbors and the Black Sea littoral states through its territory, he said.

On the whole, linking routes- railways are no exception- serve as an effective mechanism for stronger regional and bilateral relations economically speaking, he added.

He then said Yerevan expects Iran to contribute to construction of roads, including highways, in Armenia. Iranian contractors have good experience in highway construction, he added.